


Two Realms, One Sky

by Moonivy532



Category: Kingdom Hearts (Video Games)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Royalty, Coups, Elemental Magic, Eraqus bashing, F/F, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Good and Evil, I procrastinate too much, Lots of animal companions, M/M, Minor Violence, More of a personal passion project than anything, Multi, Next Generation, POV Alternating, Shipping, War, extremely subtle references to other media franchises
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-14
Updated: 2020-09-10
Packaged: 2021-03-06 07:21:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,976
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25879597
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Moonivy532/pseuds/Moonivy532
Summary: Some say the realms have been around as long as civilization itself has. They've never gotten along, tensions have always been high, wars have broken out, but it's been centuries since the dark ages. The Realm of Light is in a great era of peace and prosperity, but The Realm of Darkness has a new king, one who has already taken over all the kingdoms and claimed hold of the entire realm.All is well until one day, the flowers growing out of the thorn border bloom. A sign that death, destruction and war is on the horizon. Luckily, a promising new group of warriors are here, some with extraordinary magic, others with power and wealth, and some who just want to help, but they all want more out of their lives and it seems the opportunity has come knocking at their doors. May their hearts be their guiding keys.
Relationships: Aqua/Terra (Kingdom Hearts), Isa/Lea (Kingdom Hearts), Kairi/Naminé (Kingdom Hearts), Riku/Sora (Kingdom Hearts), Roxas/Xion (Kingdom Hearts), Vanitas/Ventus (Kingdom Hearts)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 7





	1. Blooming Ever-Sweet, the Evil Flower Reaps

**Author's Note:**

> Hi, if you managed to stumble upon this, it's actually a personal project for the two of us. Feel free to stick around, but you're probably gonna be a bit confused because it centers around our next gen OCs from a roleplay. We'll do our best to make it as comprehensible as possible!  
> ♡Moonivy and Telle

Ignis woke up abruptly to a loud rapping noise outside his bedroom door. It took him a few seconds to register the sharp noises as knocking. He stumbled out of bed and felt his way over to the door, yawning out a sleepy, "What is it?" with half-lidded eyes. 

The heavy oak door swung open to reveal Venalia, smiling at him mischievously as the bucket she'd somehow managed to rig to the door fell and spilled icy cold water over him.

"Got you!" She slapped her knee, laughing as he shivered.

"Ha ha, really funny." he sighed, shaking out his sopping wings. Already the day seemed to be off to a bad start, as he was wet, cold, and tired to boot.

"Oh come on Ignis, it was!" she protested, a slight whine creeping into her voice, "Don't be such a wet blanket!"

"Maybe for you." he grumbled, and shut the door to his room, leaving behind a frigid puddle, a bucket slowly rolling down the hall, and a very smug but thoroughly unsatisfied Venalia.

Ignis reemerged a while later in a green tunic and loose fitting white pants, his favorite blue bandanna tied around his neck as always. After toweling off and standing in front of the hot embers in his fireplace he was also signifigantly less sodden, which was always a plus. Thankfully, Vena seemed to have fled the scene, likely worried her father would get angry with her for causing a ruckus at such an early hour. She hadn't even cleaned up her mess.

With a small flap of his wings, he leaped over the puddle and touched down safely on the dry flagstones. Unfortunately, he'd been focused on getting over the puddle and didn't notice the blur of brown hair and fabric headed down the hallway straight for him.

" _Oof!_ " Ignis hit the floor, his head wringing from the impact.

"Ack! Sorry about that!" The person who'd run into him held out her hand to help him up. He grabbed it with a quick word of thanks and was pulled up effortlessly. A girl with short brown hair and tanned skin smiled at him. With her chainmail top, brown armored skirt, and her distinct white cape with the symbol of the Realm of Light embroidered on it, he easily recognized Princess Fauna. Of course, he would have recognized her even without her signature outfit as she was like a sister to him.

"Hi Fauna!"

"How's my little bro?" She asked, ruffling his still wet hair affectionately. Fauna wasn't exactly a typical princess, or at least not by the standards of the other two kingdoms, but from the Elemental Kingdom, which had a much more militaristic focus than the Celestial Kingdom and the Kingdom of Knowledge, she was arguably the perfect candidate for future Head Earth Elemental.

"I'm good!" he chirped, "Well, Vena decided to dump water on me as soon as I got out of bed, but besides that yeah I'm fine."

"Classic Vena, you just gotta get used to it." she laughed.

"Yeah, I know."

"I mean it's not like you have a choice, your dads _are_ dating."

Ignis waved his hands in front of his face, "Eww Fauna! It's to early to think about them!" He still remembered the time he walked in on them kissing, that might have scarred him for life. He was already scared enough of Vanitas as is, he definitely didn't want the Head Fire Elemental's glowering face taking up any more of his headspace.

"Fauna, did you run into Ignis again?" A pale and nervous looking boy with green hair and blue eyes approached them at a much more reasonable pace. Unlike his older sister, Prince Flora was dressed nicely in a fancy blue suit coat over his pink undershirt, with his most telling feature around his gilled neck: a necklace with a yellow star at the end, his wayfinder. Unlike Fauna, Flora was a soft-spoken and caring young man, who wasn't one for the rigid ways of his people.

"Yes." Fauna sighed. By this point, it wasn't even an uncommon occurrence.

"Could you _please_ be more careful next time?" he pleaded, "You're going to give him brain damage with all the times his head hist the floor like that!"

Fauna chuckled, "Yeah, will do!"

"I'm sorry Ignis, but we have to go now." Flora said, with an apologetic smile. "See you soon though!"

"Yeah, totally!" Ignis said, politely waiting for them to turn the corner before heading out to one of the many palace balconies, this one being his personal favorite to dive off of. To his surprise, his dad was already there, leaning over the railing, hair swaying in the breeze.

"Dad?"

Ventus turned to smile warmly at him, "Hello, Ignis."

"What are you doing here?"

"I know you like to come here, I was hoping to see you."

Ignis walked up beside him and rested his elbows on the railing, "You're up early."

"Yeah, something woke me up early this morning, I don't know what, just this odd feeling."

"Weird..."

Ven turned to him, visibly amused, "You're hair's all wet."

"Vena put a bucket of water on top of my door and it spilled on me." Ignis sighed. "She didn't even wait for me to come out on my own, she knocked and woke me up."

He laughed, "She's something else, that one."

When Ignis didn't respond, a silence settled over the two of them. It wasn't an uncomfortable one, rather the kind of silence that comes about naturally when two people are each lost in their own thoughts. However, a few minutes later Ignis broke the lengthy pause in conversation, "Dad, are you happy with your life?"

Ven seemed taken a back by that question, likely wondering where it had come from all of a sudden. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, do you ever get bored of just being the same old prince, doing the same things day after day? Even the things that make you happy... you don't ever feel like doing those things gets old? Like nothing's exciting anymore?"

"Hmm. You know, Ignis, I've never really thought too much about that. I guess sometimes I do."

"The only exciting thing in your life is being the Head Wind Elemental, and even then, what's the use for you?" Ignis sighed. "It doesn't ever get boring?"

"Well it can be a little boring, but that's not the only exciting thing in my life."

Ignis perked up, "Really?"

"It isn't." His dad turned away fro the view so he could cup his face in his hands, "I get to watch you grow up." Ven's wings brushed against his own, as he pulled him into a hug. "Would you mind telling me where this is coming from?" he murmured into his son's hair, "Are you not happy here?"

Ignis didn't respond, only hugging him tighter. He wasn't sure he was ready to answer that question.

Ven sighed. He remembered the point in his own teenage years where for a time everything had seemed boring and dull. He snapped out of it, he was sure Ignis would too. "Why don't we go for a flight? We can talk about it more after."

Ignis let go, nodding, "Sure."

Ventus smiled as he flapped his wings, launching himself into the sky. Ignis had to clamber over the guardrail and take jump off the balcony, since his wings still weren't strong enough to lift him up on his own.

They soared around for a few hours, doing tricks and waving to the people below. Occasionally another wind elemental would lift off to offer a greeting to the Head Wind Elemental and his son, or someone already gliding around would. Above one small village the two of them came upon a quartet of children learning how to fly. Ven stopped to exchange tips with the awestruck flight instructor while Ignis entertained the fledglings by doing loop-de-loops in the clear blue sky.

It was a nice escape from the walls of the castle for both of them. Wind Elementals longed for freedom, they wanted to soar high and feel nothing but the air around them. Ignis hadn't realized how far they'd gone until he saw the border. He had never been there before, and out of pure curiosity, began descending. Ven followed suit, cautiously landing next to him in front of the enormus, thorn wall. Their kingdom was the closest to the border. The Land of Departure, the capital city, was itself quite close.

"It's huge!" Ignis gaped, shocked by the sheer height. "I guess they really didn't want anyone getting over when they built this thing, huh?"

"Exactly so." he dad nodded, "When the border was erected the thorn vines grew so high that not even a Wind Elemental could fly over it, the air gets too thin."

"What's that?" Ignis asked, pointing to something.

"Hm? I don't kn-" The look of shock and horror that suddenly appeared on Ven's face was like nothing Ignis had ever seen before. "No, no, no, it can't be!"

"What, what is it? It just looks like a strange flower."

"That's not just any flower, Ignis. These flowers only bloom when something bad is fated happen. Bloodshed roses are known as the harbingers of war."

Ignis looked just as scared as his dad. _War?! Bloodshed roses?! ARE WE GONNA DIE?!_ His panicked thoughts clattered through his head.

"Ignis, we have to get back, right now!" Ven grabbed his hand and took off, racing back to the capital as fast as his wings could carry him.

They swooped down in front of the palace doors, which swung open immediately, the guards in the front exchanging a glance at their worry. Ventus ran towards the throne room looking like a mad man who'd just seen a ghost, but he didn't care how many eyes turned to him, for time was of the essence. The guards didn't even bother to stop and ask him what he was doing when they saw his face. "King Terra! Queen Aqua!"

His brother and his sister-in-law were both startled by him. "What is it, Ventus?" Aqua asked.

"The bloodshed roses have bloomed!"

The room fell into a terrified silence.


	2. We Are the Reckless, We Are the Wild Youth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Everyone, please thank Telle for all the editing and work she's doing for this! It may have been my concept, but this wouldn't be possible without her. - Moonivy

_A few days later..._

As per usual, Shinoa got up at the crack of dawn. Well, not 'got up' as in 'woke up', more 'got up as in 'left her bed', she hadn't slept all night. This was a common occurrence for her, to go days without sleeping, though it never seemed to truly affect her. She yawned, stretching out her arms and back, before sitting down at her vanity.

Despite living in a lavish kingdom, Shinoa didn't have a bunch of servants running around to give her breakfast, or try and tame her mess of flaming red hair, or pick out an outfit for her and dress her in it. She tried to do almost everything herself, she didn't need people to bend to her will in order to have influence and power, to her, she needed to be independent to have those things. After all, what good is a leader who can do nothing for herself? A ruler's people shouldn't feel the need to do anything for her, she should feel the need to do everything for them. Everything should be for the people, not for her, since she's privileged enough to one day have that position anyways.

After managing to pull part of her hair into a bun and making the rest look presentable enough and changing into a yellow suit, (if there was one thing she hated in the world, it was dresses) Shinoa left her room.

She didn't plan on talking to anyone, not even bothering to say good morning to her dads, until Tsuki stepped up to her side. "Hi."

If there was someone out there who was the polar opposite of Shinoa, it was her younger adoptive sister, Princess Tsuki, a beautiful young woman with radiant blonde hair that faded to blue at the ends, and purple eyes that could make their way into anyone's heart. Tsuki was smart and proper, the kind of person who thought you actually had to stick out your pinky while drinking tea. She was soft spoken and sophisticated, dressing in the prettiest of dresses, and dazzling everyone she met. She almost seemed like she sparkled like the moonlight when she smiled. At least, that's how the people saw her, but they didn't know the girl underneath that mask. The dorky teen who had been through so much, so much grief and trauma residing in her heart, that she wanted to just let it all out and scream, but that wasn't how Tsuki wanted to display herself to the public. Shinoa could guarantee, majority of people would prefer her sister as the future queen over her.

"Hey there, Tsu!" If Tsuki's smile sparkled, then Shinoa's burned your eyes with it's feisty warmth. "What you up to?"

"I just wanted to catch you before you went out again." she explained, "Are you really sure you want to go out alone again? I mean, something could happen-"

Tsuki got cut off by Shinoa's reply, "I'll be fine, thanks though." _Like Hell I need protecting, I'm probably a better fighter than any guard in the entire kingdom._ Shinoa internally rolled her eyes.

"Okay... but could I at least go with you?"

"You're not scared of going out _without_ a guard?" Shinoa's smirk was as smug as ever.

"No, after all," Tsuki looked at her, smiling, "I'll have you."

 _Yeah, sure you will. Not like you're definitely gonna abandon me to go sweet talk some more old people who just adore you._ Almost every time they left the palace together, Tsuki would always leave her, apparently keeping up her image was more important than her sister.

"You do." Shinoa decided not to say anything else, leaving the conversation at that before exiting the castle.

The outside air was crisp and hot as ever, the sun beating down onto them. For Shinoa, a Sun Celestial, this was her favorite kind of day, but she could only imagine how hot Tsuki must be feeling as a Moon Celestial. Shinoa took off her tuxedo jacket, throwing it over her shoulder, it was too hot out for that.

The streets were buzzing with activity, couples seated and chatting on benches or tables outside resturants, parents chasing kids running through the streets, carrying bars of sea salt ice cream (something she was quite fond of herself).

"Princess Tsuki!" Some older boy called, "We love you!" Tsuki waved, smiling.

"Princess, can we talk to you for a moment?" Some journalist approached her sister, holding some paper and a quill.

"Why of course!" She smiled. "I'm sorry Shinoa, I have to take this."

"Tch, whatever." The reporter's gaze momentarily shifted to Shinoa when she spoke, becoming far more judgmental, as though they didn't approve of such a tone being used by royalty. Clearly they had never spoken to her dad in normal conversation before. King Lea was not exactly the kind of person to talk like a proper royal either. She simply shrugged it off, leaving both of them.

The sound of kids laughing filled Shinoa's ears as she watched them play, biting into her sea salt ice cream. "Oh! Princess, will you please play with us?" A little boy approached her, holding a wooden disc in his small hands.

"Sure thing!" She smiled, taking the frisbee from the boy, and throwing it as lightly as she could, watching as the boy's friend jumped in the air to catch it. The young girl then threw it back to the boy, who threw it to Shinoa. When it was back in her hands, she accidentally threw it way to hard and high, soaring right over the girl's head and going straight through someone's window. "Oops." She laughed, and in a flash, had already fled the scene.

"What happened this time?" A voice sighed from behind Shinoa as she walked through one of the many secret tunnels. She turned to see Asha, her best friend since she was little, a boy with tanned skin, wavy black hair, and a scar going across his lips. Usually he wore almost exclusively black, but to combat the heat he'd chosen to instead wear a white button up with his black pants. While Tsuki pretended to be soft spoken, Asha truly was. He didn't talk much, and when did, it was a faint whisper. The Star Celestial, her and Tsuki's third piece, albeit a rather depressed and overly soft third piece.

"Oh nothing big, I just broke a window!" Shinoa laughed.

His slight frown turned upwards slightly at the corners, the tiny not-quite-a-smile showing his amusement. "What's new? You're pretty reckless sometimes."

"I'd rather show people that I have an actual personality." She shrugged.

"Well, the kids seem to like you quite a lot."

"Yeah well a bunch of stuck up adults all view me as the demon kid and Tsuki as some saint adult. I'm 19, she's only 17!"

"You'll win them over some day." Asha reassued.

"I sure hope so." _I'll try, I really will._ "Wanna head back to the palace with me? Your parents are the head advisers, you should be let in no problem. Not to mention, you're with me, and all the guards are terrified of me!" Her grin was far more mischievous than it used to be.

"Sure." He replied, waiting for her to lead him back, despite him arguably knowing the tunnel system better than her, she was pretty sure he spent most of his days in these tunnels, away from the busyness of the streets.

Shinoa lead Asha into the palace, the guards indeed let them pass, but she couldn't help but notice how preoccupied they seemed, how preoccupied _everyone_ seemed. That's when she got stopped by Roxas.

"Dad? What are you doing in the castle right now?" Asha asked, but Roxas didn't respond to him.

"Princess, you're needed in the throne room right now, Asha can come too but the matter is urgent." Roxas's normally unshakable voice had a different edge to it today.

Shinoa didn't bother to ask any more questions, she just grabbed Asha's hand and rushed to the throne room, skidding to a halt once inside. Asha almost fell at the quick stop, but managed to right himself and snatch his hand away from Shinoa. Oops, she should've remembered how much he hated being dragged around.

In front of her was her dads, Lea and Isa, sitting on their respective thrones, but across from them was a young boy, he looked even a year or two younger than Asha, with swooped up strawberry blonde hair and wings that stuck out of his back like he was some kind of angel.

"Shinoa, we have a visitor!" Even her dad's smile was shakier. "And, well, he brought some uh, bad news,"

Isa cut to the chase, "The bloodshed roses have bloomed, we are to suspect war may be coming."

_Shit._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was super distracted while writing this so sorry if this chapter isn't the best, hope you still enjoyed it though! Also, title from Youth by Daughter. - Moonivy


	3. The Girl That Sang by Day (and by Night She Ate Tear Soup)

Kaia knew the day was going to be interesting when she noticed the blue-haired sailor leaving the Fiery Oyster.

The problem, well not truly a problem yet, but an instance that surely had the potential to become a very large issue, was that Kaia had not seen the sailor come _in_ , and she had been perched on the rooftop of the pub all morning watching people come and go since opening.

The sailor couldn’t have been a patron from the previous night, as Kaia had it on good authority that a drunken brawl between a water elemental and a wizard from the Kingdom of Knowledge had resulted in a very sticky and messy magical disaster that had required everyone to clear out for the rest of the night.

So if the sailor had not come in during the morning hours and had not been passed out under a table from the previous night, the only option was the trapdoor in the cellar. The secret trapdoor. The trapdoor that connected to the tunnel system that led to the governor’s manor.

Kaia bit her lip and turned to watch the sailor stroll down the cobblestone street, whistling merrily and waving at anyone on the street who took notice of the jaunty tune. 

With one final glance back at the Fiery Oyster, Kaia took off across the rooftops of Destiny Islands, keeping pace with the sailor easily but remaining silent and darting out of sight whenever she thought she might be seen.

She wasn’t exactly sure what prompted her to follow the sailor; perhaps it was frustration that not one traveler in any of the various pubs and inns she kept tabs on had so much as caught a glimpse of Sora, or perhaps it was that this particular sailor with the vibrant blue hair seemed to have an aura she was sure she remembered from somewhere, or perhaps she was just being stupid and needed to turn back. What if she missed a person who’d brought news of Sora and lost her chance to ever see her dad again? Kaia wasn’t sure she could forgive herself for that.

She was just about to turn back when she noticed that the blue-haired sailor had seemingly disappeared into thin air. There had been no sounds of any door being opened, and the whistling had simply stopped abruptly. 

Kaia leaned over the edge of the rooftop to peer into the closest alleyway. Nothing. _Well that can’t be right_ , she thought to herself. _People don’t just vanish into thin air. Even teleportation leaves behind some traces_. Silently she dropped down into the alley to have a look around.

She barely blocked the oncoming strike.

The sailor with the blue hair (or more accurately turquoise now that Kaia had gotten a closer look at it) held the other end of the blade that was currently pressed against Kaia’s. She’d barely managed to unsheathe it in time, so the block was messy and her grip wasn’t very good. Still, at least she was alive. Whether or not that remained the case, well that depended on how the next few minutes went.

“Very good,” said the sailor. Kaia couldn’t tell whether the voice was male or female. “You’re certainly quick with your sword. But, I haven’t met a woman or man on the seven seas that could beat me in combat. Care to test your luck, or will you tell me why you’re following me?”

Kaia knocked the sailor’s blade aside and pressed the tip of her own under the sailor’s chin. “That’s a lot of talk for someone who was holding her sword in such a loose grip that I was able to outmaneuver her in a single move.”

The sailor laughed, “Not a her, but you _were_ right about my sword grip. Perhaps I gave you too little credit. After all, you seem to be barely more than a child.”

Kaia frowned, “I’m fifteen. And what about you, you can’t be more than twenty.”

“Spot on. For a fifteen-year-old, you’re pretty good with that sword of yours. Must’ve had a good teacher.”

She thought of Sora and Riku, their vastly different styles of both swordplay and teaching (and parenting as well, though that hurt a bit to think about). “I learned from the best.”

“Ah well, even the best can make mistakes sometimes.” the sailor said with a cocky grin, and suddenly Kaia found herself on the defensive again. The sailor’s blade clanged against hers for the second time and Kaia was forced to parry, parry again, and again. The space wasn’t ideal for swordplay and she was in a tight spot with walls on three sides, but Kaia managed to fend off strikes for longer than the sailor had expected her to. Then her back hit the wall and she was done for.

“Not too shabby, kid,” the sailor said, backing up a couple steps to give Kaia room to step away from the wall. “Not shabby at all, in fact. But since I just saved your life, I’d like it if you would tell me why you’re following me.”

“S-saved my life?” Kaia asked, “You just tried to kill me!”

“But I didn’t. Therefore, your life is saved and I am the one to thank.”

It seemed like pretty backwards logic to her, but Kaia didn’t really want to go another round with this scarily excellent swordsperson so she obliged. “I’m looking for my father,” she admitted. “Well, my dad. I know where my father is, but my dad’s missing.”

“Uh, terribly sorry kid, but I’m not a man and I think we already established I’m only five years older than you.”

“What? No! That is _not_ what I meant!” Kaia took a deep breath. “I’m looking for Sora. The great warrior of the light who protects the three kingdoms from the forces of the Realm of Darkness. Or at least, he did. He’s been missing for over a year now. I’ve been trying to track him down, but so far you’re the only person who’s seemed promising. I don’t quite know what it is about you, but you seem like you may have crossed paths with him.”

The sailor laughed and extended a hand for a handshake, “I have indeed! I’m Nakkiya, by the way, though most just call me Captain. Pronouns are xhe and xer.”

“It’s nice to meet you,” Kaia said, shaking xer hand. “You’ve met my dad? Truly?”

“Yes,” xhe sighed, “Though I fear I was the last in a long while. I’m sure you understand why he disappeared?”

Kaia shook her head, “No, not really. I know he had a mission that he never came back from, but I don’t know what it was. Father won’t tell me anything, and neither will Aunt Kairi- erm, the governor.”

Nakkiya nodded, “Right, the governor. She’s my employer, you know. It was her who asked your dad to check the situation in the Realm of Darkness, and thus it was me who took him there, since the best way to enter is from the sea.”

“What situation?” Kaia asked.

Nakkiya shrugged, “We’re not entirely sure. Our spy said that someone had taken over and united the kingdoms within the realm, but that was her last report. She disappeared around the same time as Sora.”

Kaia bit her lip. “So unless I leave Destiny Islands, there’s no way I can find him. He’s trapped somehow in the Realm of Darkness.” She preferred the word trapped, she didn’t want to think of the alternative. “What about you, Captain? Why are you here? I’m assuming it’s business for the governor, seeing as you entered the Fiery Oyster through her personal trapdoor.”

“Clever girl,” the captain said in approval, “Yes, I am. Governor Kairi’s sending me and my crew into the Realm of Darkness after Sora and Viera.”

“Viera?”

“My spy. We leave first thing tomorrow. If all goes well, my crew and I will be able to rescue our crewmate and your dad.”

“A rescue mission, huh?” Kaia smiled, “I’m coming with you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did some research on writing nonbinary characters, but I am by no means a perfect writer so if there is anything that I have written that is at all disrespectful please let me know.  
> ♡Telle


	4. There Will Come a Soilder

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was Hell to write, my creativity was dead there for a bit, sorry for the wait on this one, it's actually was in development for longer than Chapter 3. - Moonivy

Mizara walked out of his quarters, a wide smile on his face. In fact, he seemed to always be smiling. He was an odd knight to say the least, he didn't use a sword or any other traditional weapon, rather a ukulele. He wasn't psychically all that strong, but he was very gifted in water magic. He talked too much and would rather play a song then go train. So he could only imagine the look the princess would have on her face when she was told that he was to be her personal guard.

"Daia! Could you please come out of your room?" King Ienzo said, knocking on his daughter's door. Well she wasn't really his daughter, honestly the entire thing still confused him. The way he understood it, she was the result of some sort of magical duplication spell that had backfired. It was hard for him to wrap his head around it, especially not being all that bright.

The door creaked open, Daia emerging in a simple dress, more of a nightgown really, pale pink with a dark gray dressing gown thrown over it. Her silver hair covering her right eye was certainly less sleek than usual but not quite as messy as the king's.

"What is it?" she asked blearily. Idly, Mizara wondered if she'd just woken up. It was already afternoon.

"You're going on a diplomatic mission to Twilight Town and then to the Land of Departure. Mizara here will be accompanying on this mission, and starting today will be your personal guard. You leave tomorrow."

Mizara couldn't tell if she was trying to hold back a laugh or not, or if her smile was actually genuine and not mocking. "Oh, alright, Ukulele Boy's gonna be my guard now?"

"I have a name." Mizara replied, slightly ruffled.

"I think I prefer Ukulele Boy. Less familiar, you know?"

"But I-"

She rolled her eyes, amused, "I'll call you whatever I want."

Ienzo sighed, leaving them, clearly not enjoying their bickering. Mizara couldn't really blame him, he did have to put up with his dad on pretty much an hourly basis, and that was enough hassle for anyone.

Daia clapped her hands together, "Okay, Ukulele Boy! Go get me a drink."

Mizara blinked a few times, "I'm your guard, not your servant, Princess." If she was gonna be ordering him around to do mundane tasks for her for the rest of his life, he'd rather be killed during the impending war and at least die with his pride and dignity.

"There's a difference?" she asked snidely. Well, he was pretty sure she was being snide. Yet again, it was hard for Mizara to tell if her question was genuine or not. Her tone and face were always unreadable, it was impossible to tell, especially to someone as unobservant as him.

"Of course there's a difference!" He huffed, turning around and beginning to walk away, only to notice that Daia wasn't following him. "What? You not coming?"

"Of course I'm not coming with you to get me a drink!" She laughed.

He felt like the appropriate reaction would be to roll his eyes, but he didn't. He was a guard, and she was ther princess, and there was still an entire mystery behind her, she couldn't be read or picked apart, not by him at least. "I'm not getting you a drink, I thought you might want to go outside."

He could feel Daia's gaze even through her hair. "Oh I haven't left the palace in years."

Her surprise was only matched by Mizara's, "You _what_!?"

"Need I repeat myself, Ukulele Boy?"

Mizara's mouth was agape, but he quickly shut it, and that shocked look turned into his signature grin, the one that he seemed to almost always be wearing. "Well, come on then, I'll show you around!" He grabbed her hand before she could say no, and speed walked (running would seem disrespectful) to the castle gates.

A cool breeze swept across them as they stood in the gardens just inside the castle walls, making the flowers shiver along with Daia. "Mizara I've been out of the castle before, I know what this garden looks like, I can see it from my window."

"Come on, bet you haven't seen the main garden since it was remodeled!" He took her hand a again, pulling her behind him as he moved to the central garden. "Here we are!" He let go of her, gesturing outwards with his arms at the beautiful flowers, a bed of green painted with vibrant colors that stretched out across a vast circular courtyard. The gardens were truly stunning, Radiant Garden didn't get it's name for nothing.

Daia seemed to genuinely, if even just a little bit, smile for once. "Wow."

"HEY LAURIAM, HERE THAT?! SHE LIKES WHAT YOU'VE DONE WITH THE PLACE!" Mizara yelled, causing a strangely well dressed man (well, strange for someone who worked in a garden) with pink hair to turn around and face them.

"Oh? Why hello, Princess." His smile was warm, a stark contrast to the strange black and thorny rose he held in his hand. Mizara didn't appreciate being ignored, but he'd take Lauriam's dismissing over Elrena's yelling any day. "I see you came outside for once."

"Daia-"

"Princess," she corrected.

"Uh, right. Sorry. Anyway, this is Lauriam, he's the gardener."

"Garden _keeper_ is my actual title." He corrected Mizara, "Though I am pretty much just a fancy gardener." He paused for a second, pondering, "Are you two going into town?"

"I was planning on it." Mizara nodded.

"Can you give this to Elrena then?" Lauriam held the rose out to him, "She'll understand what it means, and be careful, the thorns hurt if you prick yourself on them."

He carefully took the rose, "Yep!"

"Thank you." Lauriam smiled again.

"You're welcome." Mizara turned to Daia, "Now come on, we're heading to the square."

"I don't appreciate you ordering me around, Ukulele Boy." she said, but followed him nonetheless.

The market square was bustling with activity. People were buying or trading for jewelry, potions, enchanted objects, pretty much everything. Aside from its gardens, Radient Garden was famous for being a treasure trove of magical and scientific objects. It'd have to be, as it was the capital of the Kingdom of Knowledge, home to most of the realm's wizards and alchemists.

Mizara lead Daia past all the people, heading into one of the only shops without much activity, the armory.

"Hey Elr-" He ducked under a knife that was thrown at his head by a woman with gravity-defying yellow hair.

"MIZARA FOR THE LAST TIME STOP SHOWING UP HERE TO WASTE MY TIME WITH YOUR STUPID THOUGHTS AND REQUESTS!" Elrena yelled. "Your dad's enough hassle as is!"

"S-Sorry." He said, trembling as Daia laughed quietly beside him.

"You're quite the pathetic accuse for a guard, Ukulele Boy!" She chuckled. He wasn't sure if she was making fun of him or just amused.

"Yeah yeah." He sighed before turning his attention back to Elrena, holding out the rose. "Lauriam said to give this to you, that you'd 'know what it meant' or something."

Her face dropped for a moment as she took the rose before she rolled her eyes, "It means I'm gonna be getting a lot more orders than I'd like to."

"Why's that?" he asked.

She laughed, amused by his stupidity, "War's on our doorstep!"

"Well I suppose that means our trip just got a whole lot more interesting." the princess sighed calmly.

"I think you mean a whole lot more dangerous."

"That's what you're for, Ukulele Boy." The same hard to read smile spread across Daia's lips.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Moonivy did an excellent job with this chapter, eh? Radiant Garden is one of my favorite locations in the Kingdom Hearts series, and I'm so glad that this chapter introduced some of my favorite characters (both from the games and original characters) as well as the third kingdom in the Realm of Light. Stay tuned for more shenanigans!  
> ♡Telle
> 
> Title from Soilder, Poet, King by The Oh Hellos- Moonivy


	5. Don't Worry, Don't Worry, Don't Lose Your Head

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait again! Updates will be sporadic, especially now that school has started. I am a procrastinator through and through and this is my first time ever writing a fanfic. I seem to be lacking a lot of motivation lately, hopefully you can understand. -Moonivy
> 
> Who are we talking to in these notes? No one reads this lmao. ♡Telle
> 
> We have some hits, you never know. - Moonivy

Asha, upon hearing the news, nearly passed out. Luckily Shinoa managed to steady him before he could fall over and make a fool of himself, though she doubted anyone would really judge him. 

As much as she hated to admit, she felt like passing out herself, however she didn’t show it. Shinoa hated looking weak, so she’d always tried to keep her chin up and act tough when faced with problems that scared her. At least she wasn’t like Tsuki, who was never herself.

"Just one question," Shinoa said, breaking the tense silence, "Who the hell is that kid?" 

The boy with feathered wings looked to either side of his as if he were trying to figure out who she could possibly be talking about. “Me?”

“Yes you.”

“Oh, I'm Ignis, son of Prince Ventus of the Elemental Kingdom, I was sent here as a messenger. Pleased to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too, Ignis. I'm Princess Shinoa."

"Is now _really_ the time to be doing this?!" She could hear the panic in Asha's voice. It always squeaked when he was frightened.

"Sorry, I forgot to introduce you to my friend here.” she said, shoving Asha off of her, “This is Asha, he's sad all the time and doesn't like to talk much."

"Of course I’m not talking, now isn't exactly the time for greetings! The Realm of Darkness practically declared war!" 

“Asha’s right,” Isa said firmly, “You two can catch up later. Although it is important to introduce guests, we have much more pressing matters to deal with currently.”

“Right,” Shinoa nodded, “So are we waiting for-? Oh, well nevermind here they come.”

Two sets of footsteps could be heard heading towards them on the polished marble floors. Shinoa turned in time to see Tsuki and Xion, Asha's mom and the other head adviser, turn the corner and come into the throne room. Xion stopped to bow, "I apologize for being late, my lords. Your daughter was quite difficult to track down." 

Tsuki flushed slightly, seemingly embarrassed by that comment.

"Xion, you know you don't need to be so formal." Lea sighed. Xion hadn’t been born into the Nine Planetary Houses of the nobility, so she was always extremely respectful when speaking with the members of the court, a habit that King Lea had tried to break many times through what Isa refered to as his "aggressive friendliness technique." Although Shinoa was confident the two were indeed friends, Xion still had extremely formal speaking habits.

"We're just glad that you could make it, thank you." Isa added, shifting his gaze to his daughter, "Are you aware of the situation?"

Tsuki nodded, but Shinoa could already tell from her trembling hands gripping the fabric of her dress. "Y-Yes." Her voice wavered, seemingly on the verge of terrified tears. Her mask was slipping.

"Alright then,” Shinoa said, down to business, “We should start planning immediately. If this is a war, people are gonna die, it's naive to believe otherwise, but we can try to minimize the casualties. We're the farthest kingdom from the border, we have the most time to prepare, so let’s take advantage of that."

The entire room, besides Ignis who had only been in the company of these people for a few minutes, seemed stunned. _Shinoa_ of all people taking the initiative to get things done was rare, if not unheard of. She always seemed so chaotic, a constant smug grin on her face paired with a mischievous laugh, and that made seeing her so serious outright jarring.

"Right," Isa said, always quick to recover. "Shall we take this to the war room? You're welcome to join us when you're ready, Ignis. I'm sure your intel will be valuable, but you must've had a long flight to get here and the castle has plenty of empty beds for you to get some rest."

"No, I'm alright, thank you." Ignis said, though he did look rather worn out. His wings were practically drooping with exhaustion.

"Very well then, let's go. And Lea, dear, close your mouth, you'll catch flies."

Lea, who had been staring at his daughter with his jaw practically on the floor, seemed to remember he was supposed to be readying a kingdom for a war and snapped back to attention. "Right! This way everybody! Prepare for a long night because we're not taking any breaks!"

* * *

"Can we pleeeease take a break?" Lea whined.

"No."

"For like, five minutes maybe?"

Isa sighed, "No, Lea, we're preparing our kingdom for war."

Shinoa chuckled, it was nice to see her dads still acting like themselves even with the threat of the Realm of Darkness hanging over their heads. Although there was always the possibility the news hadn't entirely sunk in.

She glanced around the circular table that made up the war room. Everyone seemed tired or stunned or both. Tsuki was slumped in the chair for House Pluto, the house she'd been born into before her adoption, glassy-eyed and staring off into the distance. Roxas and Xion had their heads together in the chairs for House Jupiter and House Saturn respectively. Usually they'd be sitting in the advisers' chairs, one on either side of the two thrones her dads occupied, but this was an informal meeting and so they'd sat closer together in order to confer properly. Asha had left earlier to bring his three younger siblings to Olette's to stay the night, but he was back now in the House Venus chair. The dark circles under his eyes looked like bruises. (Briefly, Shinoa wondered why he was always so tired. Celestials of the Sun, Moon, and Stars didn't require any sleep to function, though most enjoyed it.) Ignis was curled up on the chair for House Mars closest to the fireplace. He was sound asleep.

Shinoa herself was seated in the chair for House Neptune, next to her sister. Absent-mindedly she twirled a chess piece in between her fingers. It was white with a five-pointed star marking it as the representation of her aunt's naval forces in Destiny Islands, the corner of the kingdom entrusted to the head of House Mars. Had the sun blessed someone else, it would be her father in charge of the territory and the royal navy, however when he was born the Sun Celestial the land instead went to his younger sister so he could ascend to the throne.

"Hey dads!" Shinoa said.

"Yeah kiddo?"

"Yes?"

"What're our plans for the royal navy?"

"We're not entirely sure." Isa said. 

"We have no clue what kind of naval forces the new king of the Dark Realm has up his sleeve since pretty much all contact with anyone above the border has been cut off since he came to power. Your aunt has a crew investigating, I think, but she's at the southernmost point of the continent and the Realm of Darkness is in the far north," Lea explained, "There's only so much we can do to prepare for now since we won't even know the size of their army until they get into the Realm of Light."

"Right. Hmm." she sunk back down into her chair and thought about it. Their kingdom was the furthest from the border, true, which meant they were more or less relying on the Elemental Kingdom and the Kingdom of Knowledge to stop or at least weaken the dark forces before they got to the Celestial Kingdom. They could send a portion of their army to aid the other kingdoms in the hopes that the extra numbers would help push back the darkness, but without knowing the number of soldiers or horses their enemies possessed, there was a chance their armies in the north would be crushed alongside the northern kingdoms, leaving only a fraction of their army to defend home.

"What we need," Xion murmured, "Is some way to keep tabs of the army of the Dark Realm and get that information back to us immediately. Sending messages by crow takes too long, and even then crows don't always make it to the intended recipient. The only way to pass on accurate information is through the telepathic bond each generation of major celestials posses."

"Obviously we can't place anyone _in_ the Realm of Darkness, very few creatures of light can cross the border and almost the entirety of our Shadow House was wiped out, but if we had someone in the Elemental Kingdom then that might work. So the only option," Roxas continued, "Is to send a major celestial to the Elemental Kingdom."

The already quiet room grew quite silent at that.

"But that means..." Asha said tentatively, "That means I'll have to go, doesn't it? Because we can't put any of the royal family in danger, and Skuld is about to have a baby so it wouldn't be good to send her, which means out of the six living major celestials, I'm the only one who can go... aren't I?"

"I'll go." Shinoa offered immediately, "It doesn't matter that I'm a royal, I'm stronger than Asha is, more likely to survive if worst comes to worst and the north is invaded. Besides, what good is a ruler that doesn't fight for her people? I won't stay behind the city walls like a coward while others fight my battles for me."

"They're not _your_ battles," Tsuki said quietly, "And a ruler should focus on ruling, not fighting."

"So what, you just want be to stand here and let others die for me? Not that I think you're going to die, Asha. Well you might, I guess, but probably not."

"O-okay." he squeaked.

"That's enough." Isa said firmly, putting an end to the beginnings of a panicked argument. "Shinoa, you are the heir to the throne, you can't throw yourself mindlessly into danger."

"But I-"

"I know. We all know how much you care for this kingdom, which is precisely why you need to stay alive so you can rule it. If we are to have any hope of receiving aid from your fiancée's uncle, the emperor of the eastern continent, he'll require confirmation that you are still living. Saying we sent you off on a dangerous mission would not work in our favor."

"But I'm sure-"

"No." said Lea. "You're not going."

Shinoa abruptly got up, grabbing Tsuki's wrist and pulling her up as well. "Come on, Tsuki, we're leaving."

"We're not done y-"

Shinoa interrupted Isa, "We're clearly not needed here. Goodbye." Before anyone else could interject, she shut the door behind her.

"Shinoa, what was that for?!" Tsuki tore her wrist away, apparently no one liked being pulled around.

She snarled, "You know exactly what that was for. And don't act like I shouldn't be mad at you either. You have no right to tell me what to do."

"You're right," Tsuki sighed. "I'm sorry, I should've stayed out of it."

"Thanks, but let's just forget about that. Fighting won't solve anything. Wanna go do something?

"Like what?"

"Chess?"

"Sure."

Tsuki and Shinoa sat down at their designated chess table. They played together frequently, it was one of the few common interests they had. It took Shinoa awhile to catch up to Tsuki, but she had gotten the hang of it years ago. Even then, Tsuki had still beat her in every game they ever played. Chess was a strategy game after all, and her sister was far brighter than her. Not to say she was dumb, but Tsuki was in another league entirely.

The game carried on as usual, unsurprisingly, Tsuki had taken the lead. Then, Shinoa made the unfortunate decision to open her mouth, "Hey, Tsu."

"Yes?" Tsuki was focused on the board rather then her.

"How do you feel about all of this, like the war and stuff, I know what happened to your family-"

Tsuki froze, her arm hovering, aching to just slam the chess piece she was holding onto the board. Shinoa really shouldn't have said that, she knew how traumatic what happened to her sister's family was for her.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have brought up your family." Shinoa said quickly, attempting to backpedal.

"It's okay." Tsuki placed the piece down. "The truth is, I'm scared, Noa."

A hushed whisper of a reply, "I'm scared too."

"I don't think we're scared for the same reasons."

She raised an eyebrow, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nevermind." Tsuki's face looked as though she shouldn't have said that.

"Okay then." _I probably shouldn't bug her anymore than I already have._

The game continued on in silence, until "Checkmate!" Shinoa's big, smug grin burned into Tsuki's eyes. "I won!"

"So you finally did." Tsuki's smile was small, almost somber.

"It's getting late, we should head to bed."

"Yeah, we should." They both got up.

"A victor deserves her sleep after all!" Shinoa smirked.

Tsuki laughed, "Goodnight, Shinoa."

"Goodnight, loser." If Shinoa had known those would be the last words she'd say to her sister, she would have been more careful.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title from Don't Loose Ur Head from Six


End file.
